Dunk Island was originally known as Coonanglebah by the local Bandjin and Djiru people. Before English settlement, over 10,000 years ago, the elders would make canoes out of bark and paddle their way over to the Island to get food and materials. During World War II, the RAAF built a radar on the highest peak of the Island and an airstrip on the west side, the radar is decommissioned with the airstrip still in service. Currently on Dunk island there is a jetty, walking tracks and a resort still heavily damaged from Cyclones Larry (2006) and Yasi (2011). Today is Shovel’s birthday so we thought we would take a boat ride out to Dunk Island and walk the 11 kilometre track. The Island is nothing short of spectacular with pristine beaches, inviting coral blue waters and views that look over the endless stretch of coastline and adjacent islands. You can barely make out any housing on the mainland, which gives you a great sense of being away from civilisation ✌💛☀️🎉🎂🚤🌴

Croydon was one of the many towns that thrived well in the 1880’s gold mining boom. The town once had a population of 7000 people during that era, being the fourth largest town in Queensland. Now the town is down to the hundreds, but is still well worth a visit. It has a lovely old convenience store with antique items used through Croydon’s heyday, Lake Belmore, the Gulflander Rail line (the other end of which is at Normanton, 155 kilometres north west of Croydon) and plenty of mining history in the surrounds with discontinued equipment and mine sites. We encountered a massive bull, with big horns that looked fierce, but later found out that it was friendly. 🐂🐃🐮 We loved this area as it felt like a ghost town post tourist season, the locals were friendly and there's loads of history to experience.

Situated about an hours drive from the Gulf coastline, it is the administrative town of the shire of Carpenteria. It is a pleasant town with some intersting buildings like the Purple Pub, the original Gaol and the restored information centre. The Albion pub serves up a great feed of fish, or the locals have a go at trying to catch their own on the Norman River fishing bridge. Other popular sights are the 8.64m long croc statue that was to replicate the record catch by well known croc farmer Krystina Pawlolska in 1957, the evidence of the catch was apparently washed away in the 1974 floods so you just have to take their word for it. The Normanton Railway station was another eye opener, with a beautifully preserved station and train built in the 1890s gold rush days to provide a rail service to Croydon, which still operates once a week 🚂
We saw a croc from the fishing bridge. It was far out into the distance, Shovel first spotted it, then a local indigenous fisherman confirmed the sighting. I could have watched it for hours. But the flies around us were horrendous, and the croc eventually slid into the water and swam away 🐊

Sixty kilometres north of Hughenden is the Porcupine Gorge, which expresses millions of years of formation from volcanic activity. ​